dr_wu002
Well-known member
This section jumps back to Day 1 of the 9 day trip circumnavigating (CCW) Iceland. It was our first day on the road after spending 2 days in Reykjavík and we decided to hit the three "can't miss" attractions and then forget the touristy crap thereafter.
These three places are known as the "Golden Circle" and they are Þingvellir, Geysír and Gulfoss (the "Þ" in Þingvellir is pronounced "th"). They are a very short drive from Reykjavík and close together so one can expect large numbers of tour busses and souviner shops close by. Pictures are here:
http://community.webshots.com/album/382509497yoeoRP
Trip Report is as follows:
Þingvellir
Þingvellir was for the most part the meeting place for Icelandic Parliament over 1000 years ago. The interesting feature though is that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge passes right through here! In addition to the ridge, Þingvellir sits on a beautiful lake and is flanked by a volcano (Hekla) and several mountain ranges.
We spent about an hour wandering around, trying to keep ahead of the hoards (which hadn't quite shown up yet) and taking in some of the sites...
Geysír
You may have guessed that Geysír is indeed a geyser but what you might not have known is that Geysír is the original from which the word geyser is derived. Unfortunately, the original Geysír does not spout anymore! Tourists over the years had thrown dirt and rocks into it so that it would errupt more often (WTF!?) Instead it died. Fortunately, there is a smaller (but no less impressive, I guess) Geysír a few hundred feet away -- and lucky for it, it erupts like clockwork every 5 and then 10 minutes. The original Geysír bubbles alone in sadness but will spout no more.
I have some pictures but the most impressive images I took were movies and I can't post those here. There's a neat movie of Geysír spitting its hot water mist all over Jess who didn't notice that the wind had shifted and the other tourists had run for their lives. She wasn't mortally or even seriously injured.
Gulfoss
Gulfoss (foss = falls) is called the "Niagara Falls of Europe" and I thought it was quite majestic. It's a double tiered falls set against a stunning, rocky landscape. What's neat is that you can walk right up to the damn thing -- no guard rails really to prevent the occasional fall (or barrel rider). I wanted to climb in my floatable Iron Maiden and go over the falls in it but Jess absolutely forbid me from getting it from the car
. Oh well, all the same I guess, but why'd I bother lugging the damn thing along if I couldn't use it, right?
Actually, after these three things we moved on to Skógafoss and did that wonderful waterfalls hike -- which I had forgotten was all done on the same day as Þingvellir, Geysír and Gulfoss. Those places were about as touristy as Iceland gets but were still good because they're easily accessible and doable in just about 3 or 4 hours from Reykjavík. They're also a great photo opportunity!
-Dr. Wu
These three places are known as the "Golden Circle" and they are Þingvellir, Geysír and Gulfoss (the "Þ" in Þingvellir is pronounced "th"). They are a very short drive from Reykjavík and close together so one can expect large numbers of tour busses and souviner shops close by. Pictures are here:
http://community.webshots.com/album/382509497yoeoRP
Trip Report is as follows:
Þingvellir
Þingvellir was for the most part the meeting place for Icelandic Parliament over 1000 years ago. The interesting feature though is that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge passes right through here! In addition to the ridge, Þingvellir sits on a beautiful lake and is flanked by a volcano (Hekla) and several mountain ranges.
We spent about an hour wandering around, trying to keep ahead of the hoards (which hadn't quite shown up yet) and taking in some of the sites...
Geysír
You may have guessed that Geysír is indeed a geyser but what you might not have known is that Geysír is the original from which the word geyser is derived. Unfortunately, the original Geysír does not spout anymore! Tourists over the years had thrown dirt and rocks into it so that it would errupt more often (WTF!?) Instead it died. Fortunately, there is a smaller (but no less impressive, I guess) Geysír a few hundred feet away -- and lucky for it, it erupts like clockwork every 5 and then 10 minutes. The original Geysír bubbles alone in sadness but will spout no more.
I have some pictures but the most impressive images I took were movies and I can't post those here. There's a neat movie of Geysír spitting its hot water mist all over Jess who didn't notice that the wind had shifted and the other tourists had run for their lives. She wasn't mortally or even seriously injured.
Gulfoss
Gulfoss (foss = falls) is called the "Niagara Falls of Europe" and I thought it was quite majestic. It's a double tiered falls set against a stunning, rocky landscape. What's neat is that you can walk right up to the damn thing -- no guard rails really to prevent the occasional fall (or barrel rider). I wanted to climb in my floatable Iron Maiden and go over the falls in it but Jess absolutely forbid me from getting it from the car
. Oh well, all the same I guess, but why'd I bother lugging the damn thing along if I couldn't use it, right?Actually, after these three things we moved on to Skógafoss and did that wonderful waterfalls hike -- which I had forgotten was all done on the same day as Þingvellir, Geysír and Gulfoss. Those places were about as touristy as Iceland gets but were still good because they're easily accessible and doable in just about 3 or 4 hours from Reykjavík. They're also a great photo opportunity!
-Dr. Wu
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